Donlyn Turnbull and this old guy walk into a convenience story — but the punchline sucks:

So, I’m in line at the convenience store I frequent daily and in front of me is an older gentleman. He is EASILY in his mid- to late- eighties. He points behind the counter and asked for his brand of cigarettes. The cashier puts them on the counter and asked for the gentleman’s I.D. He reached into his pocket, pulled out a wad of cash, but had (apparently) forgotten his I.D. The cashier kindly apologized, but said he wouldn’t be able to finish the transaction. The older gentleman was agitated. I spoke up and said he could use my I.D. Because I’m not a smoker, I was unaware that there is a bar code on the back of our driver’s licenses that needs to be scanned before you can purchase things like cigarettes (this tidbit of information ticked me off on a whole bunch of new levels). I was informed by the cashier that because he knew I wouldn’t be purchasing them for myself that is considered a “third party sale” and is illegal.

Rejoice, comrades! Soon, everything not mandatory will be forbidden.

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1.
Kevin

I’m pretty sure that I’m not going to be one of the “more equal” animals on the farm

I live in Maryland and at some liquor stores the clerk scans the back of my driver’s license when I buy booze. I thought it might be a way of avoiding errors of addition by the clerk figuring if I’m old enough. But now I wonder….

The clerk was very much in “I don’t want to get in trouble” mode. You see the same nonsense in public schools now where even a drawing of a gun will get a kid suspended. Absolute rules mean not having to take responsibility for what happens if you actually use your brain.

You are discriminating against those whose brains have atrophied from disuse. That is why our dear leaders, may their names be forever praised, give us regulations and instructions to follow, so we don’t have to tax further the little grey matter that remains.

You do know that not asking for ID can get you fired, right? That the store can lose its license and the general manager can be fired? Not to mention fines? How does $30,000 or $50,000 sound?

Yes, it’s a silly law, but the poor bugger has to follow the law, or lose his/her job.

I’ve seen the other side of the coin, where customers literally cuss out the cashier for not allowing them to buy cigs or booze without an ID. It’s not the cashier’s fault, but they have to put up with that crap. Of course, they could (as you put it) “take responsibility” and sell the stuff without seeing an ID. You going to pay their bills when they get fired?

Please don’t tell me that doesn’t happen. The restaurant I work at fired a server just last month for not asking for ID. The penalties for the company (restuarant or convenience store) are too high to ignore.

But feel free to call someone else stupid or cowardly because they don’t want to risk their job over cigarettes, beer, or liquor.